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Fog City Blues: Tumbledown House

Photo by Anthony Foiani

Bay Area songwriting deviants Tumbledown House have never been easy to describe: modern speakeasy, saloon jazz, parlor pop, and Tom Waits in a cocktail dress are just some of the terms used.

The band's most recent studio album, Sum and Substance, is a slight departure from the vaudevillian carnival ride of their earlier work. Accessing a certain vulnerability, the album showcases the growth and maturity that the band has experienced as artists and songwriters, while still holding on to a bit of the whimsical playfulness that sets them apart from other acts (songs from the album include an ode to Josephine Baker, a commentary on the modern dating game using animal safari metaphors, and an account of a shamanic journey into the Peruvian jungle). Tumbledown House join host Devon Strolovitch live in the studio this Wednesday 4/19 at 9 pm.